[The Italian National Center for Oncological Adrotherapy (CNAO): status and perspectives]

A complex particle accelerator has been built at the Italian National Centre for Oncological Adrotherapy in Pavia, called synchrotron, which is able to decompose atoms and create beams of particles to be directed to tumour cells in order to destroy them. It is the hadrontherapy, a very advanced radiation therapy for the treatment of X-ray resistant or inoperable tumours. In particular, the CNAO synchrotron in Pavia is the only one in Italy capable of extracting carbon ions from the atom, which are the most powerful particles capable of destroying the DNA of cancer cells while preserving the surrounding healthy tissues. Hadrontherapy has been recently included by the Italian Ministry of Health into the essential levels of assistance, recognizing its scientific validity. All Italian citizens can access treatments within the National Health System, according to defined modalities. More than 50 patients are treated at CNAO every day and to date more than 2300 cancer patients from all over Italy have been able to benefit from hadrontherapy. The article will illustrate the technological innovation of the centre in Pavia and will focus on the most interesting research and development projects.